Electronic gaming machines (EGM), such as slot machines, video poker machines, and the like, have become a cornerstone of the gaming industry. Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machine and the entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing machines and the expectation of winning at each machine is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are typically attracted to the most entertaining and exciting machines. Shrewd operators consequently strive to employ technologically advanced gaming devices with the most entertaining and exciting game features and enhancements because such devices attract frequent play and hence increase profitability to the operator. Thus, gaming manufacturers continuously endeavor to develop advanced gaming machines with improved gaming enhancements that will attract frequent play and player loyalty through enhanced entertainment value to the player.
A significant technical challenge is to improve the operation of gaming apparatus and games played thereon, including the manner in which they leverage an underlying random element generator, by making them yield a negative return on investment in the long run (via a high quantity and/or frequency of player/apparatus interactions) and yet random and volatile enough to make players feel they can get lucky and win in the short run. Striking the right balance between yield versus randomness and volatility to create a feeling of luck involves addressing many technical problems, some of which can be at odds with one another. This luck factor is what appeals to core players and encourages prolonged and frequent player participation. As the industry matures, the creativity and ingenuity required to improve such operation of gaming apparatus and games grows accordingly.
One concept that has been successfully employed to improve the operation of gaming devices and enhance the entertainment value of a wagering game is the concept of a “secondary” or “bonus” game that may be played in conjunction with a “primary” or “basic” game. The bonus game may comprise any type of game, either similar to or completely different from the basic game, which is entered upon the occurrence of a selected event or outcome during play of the basic game. Generally, bonus games provide a greater expectation of winning than the basic game and may also be accompanied with more attractive or unusual video displays and/or audio.
Another concept that has been employed to improve the operation of gaming devices and games played thereon is the use of progressive jackpots. In the gaming industry, a “progressive game” or “progressive jackpot” involves collecting coin-in data from participating gaming device(s), such as slot machines, contributing a percentage of that coin-in data to a jackpot amount, and awarding that jackpot amount to a player upon the occurrence of a jackpot-winning event. A jackpot-winning event typically occurs when a “progressive winning position” is achieved during game play at a participating gaming device. If the gaming device is a slot machine, a progressive winning position may, for example, correspond to alignment of progressive-jackpot-triggering reel symbols along an active payline. For video poker games, the progressive jackpot is oftentimes awarded only when a player is dealt a card combination with the highest payoff, e.g. a royal flush. The initial progressive jackpot is set to a predetermined minimum amount. This initial jackpot amount, however, progressively increases as players continue to play the gaming machine without winning the jackpot. The incremental growth of a progressive jackpot is typically displayed by a dedicated metering device. When the progressive jackpot is awarded, the jackpot amount is typically reset to the predetermined minimum amount.
In existing progressive games, there may be a single progressive jackpot or multiple progressive jackpots that may be awarded. A single EGM may contribute to and compete for a progressive jackpot or several EGM's can be linked together, e.g., over a local area network (LAN) or wide-area network (WAN), such that several players at several gaming machines contribute to and compete for the same jackpot. Conventionally, when several gaming machines contribute to the same jackpot, the jackpot progressively increases at a much faster rate. Progressive jackpots will typically continue to grow, without restriction, based on coin-in contributions until the progressive-winning symbol combination is achieved. Because the bonus game and progressive game concepts offer tremendous advantages in player appeal and excitement relative to other known games, and because such games are attractive to both players and operators, there is a continuing need to develop gaming systems with new types of bonus games to satisfy the demands of players and operators.